Smooth dance moves confirm new bird-of-paradise species

Rare video highlights unique behavior and sounds

Date:  April 17, 2018

Source:  Cornell University

Newly publicized audiovisuals support full species status for one of the dancing birds-of-paradise in New Guinea. This new species, called the Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise, is found only in the island's far-western Bird's Head, or Vogelkop, region. In a new paper published in the journal PeerJ, scientists "show and tell" half-a-dozen ways this form is distinct from the more widespread Superb Bird-of-Paradise, now called the Greater Superb Bird-of-Paradise -- the bird known for its bouncy "smiley face" dance routine.

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A Victoria Crowned Pigeon Hatches at Zoo Miami

Zoo Miami has announced its first successful hatching of a Victoria Crowned Pigeon! The single chick hatched on November 30 after being artificially incubated in the zoo’s brooder building for 28 days. 

Victoria Crowned Pigeons are the world’s largest living pigeons, reaching a length of nearly 30 inches (76.2 cm) and weighing close to five pounds (2.27 kg). They are one of the closest living relatives of the now extinct Dodo bird. Found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and portions of Indonesia, these stunning birds are classified as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Species' Red List. Main threats are deforestation for logging as well as by hunting for food and their ornate feathers. These birds are found in small flocks on the forest floor foraging for seeds, fruit and snails. Distinguished by their ornate fan of crest feathers and deep red eyes, adults are mainly blue in color with accents of deep burgundy and small highlights of white. 

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Three rare maleo chicks were born at the Bronx Zoo Tuesday.

The maleo is a rare bird native only on the small Indonesian island Sulawesi. The bird is a member of the megapode family, medium-sized chicken-like birds found near Australia and New Guinea.

The three chicks were described by the Wildlife Conservation Society as “healthy and currently in an off-exhibit area of the zoo” in a news release. The Society manages the Bronx Zoo, including its “World of Birds” exhibit, where the young maleos will live.

Megapodes are also known for their strange, complex nesting behaviors. The birds built large thermal nest-mounds where they bury their eggs. At the bottom of some mounds, below the eggs, the birds pile rotting compost that heats and incubates their egg-bound young. They then cover the eggs and decaying vegetation in insulating sand. Others incubate their eggs using the sun’s heat, geothermal energy, or volcanic soil. Maleos are known for their reddish-orange beak, peach breasts and the bizarre black helmet “casque” that sits atop their head.

Maleo chicks are not fully grown when they emerge from their incubation mound, but are able to fly, regulate body temperature by themselves, and forage for food.

“Almost half of all megapode species are threatened with extinction,” Dr. Nancy Clum told the New York Times. Clum is curator of ornithology at the Bronx Zoo. “The work we do with maleos both at the zoo and in the field can provide a model for conservation of other megapode species.”

Maleo numbers are dropping because of invasive species and humans stealing their eggs. Currently, outside of Sulawesi, the only maleos on the planet reside at the Bronx Zoo, where the three chicks will join nine other Maleos.

http://www.itechpost.com/articles/6813/20130320/rare-maleo-birds-born-bronx-zoo.htm

Videos: Rare Glimpses of Amazing Birds-of-Paradise Courtship Rituals

Birds of paradise have evolved into very conspicuous animals with orange, red and turquoise plumage and ornate wire-like feathers that have captured the imagination of scientists and bird enthusiasts alike.

Their showy features are a delight to behold, but they would also make them an easy target for hungry cats and other predatory mammals -- if there were any around. The absence of such predators is precisely what allowed these otherwise impractical species to evolve.

"There was an evolutionary opportunity to develop that kind of extravagance," ornithologist Ed Scholes of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology said. "They're a quirk of geography."

More than 20 years ago, wildlife photographer Tim Laman saw his first birds of paradise, the Standardwing and the Red Bird of Paradise, while traveling in Indonesia. He started imagining a project to photograph every species of these birds in their natural habitats of New Guinea and parts of Australia.

"It was one of the dream assignments on my list," said Laman, who's also a rainforest biologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Laman, whose work often focuses on conservation, finally pitched the project to National Geographic in 2003. He teamed up with Scholes, and during the next three years the pair made five trips to New Guinea and managed to photograph about half of the 39 species of birds of paradise.

Video and continued:  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/birds-of-paradise/